MURFREESBORO, Tenn.- MTSU's Blue Raiders made their annual trek to Arkansas. This year though team members played with heavy hearts. The Blue Raiders from MTSU took to the court Sunday for the first time since a teammate was stabbed to death Wednesday evening. The MTSU women's basketball team played Sunday in the quarter-finals of the Sun Belt Conference tournament, a game team-members nearly skipped.
Anyone who has ever played college or even high school sports knows teammates can become as close as family.
Sunday afternoon, the Blue Raiders played their first game since losing a member of their family. Before tip off, there was a moment of silence to honor MTSU forward Tina Stewart. This past Wednesday, Stewart was stabbed to death inside her apartment.
Her teammates painted their finger nails with the color purple and wore purple ribbons in their hair to honor their lost friend. Purple was Tina's favorite color.
Playing in this year's Sun Belt conference tournament was a difficult decision for everyone associated with the women's basketball team. Collectively they decided to compete because they felt like Tina would have wanted them to.
Unfortunately, top seeded MTSU lost their quarterfinal matchup to Arkansas State Sunday 77 to 62.
